#arkhelios

[potential-fate]

“Can I say something off topic without you freaking out?” Zane asked. Roman gave him a look. Roman’s mind flashed to his and Lucy’s conversation outside the student center, and he tried to bury the sudden rush of guilt, and the intense anxiety that Zane had overheard them. He wasn’t ready for that conversation. 

“Uh… yeah.” He said, worrying his bottom lip. 

“Look, so I know you and Lucy are like… close.” Zane started, seeming to tread carefully. Roman’s brow furrowed, suddenly unsure of where this line of conversation was going.

“And I know you’re like, engaged now, or whatever.”

“Get to the point, Zane.” Roman said. 

“Okay okay, I was just wondering like… you and Lucy…?” 

Roman almost physically recoiled, making a face that was probably fairly rude if he was honest with himself.

[luverofralts]

Arkhelios Adventures

"Theodosius, thank you for joining us. My name is Alys, and I will be part of your welcoming team for your entrance to Shadowvale Academy. Do you have any questions for me?"

Theo glowered at the woman, who continued to smile politely back at him.

"Can I talk to my boyfriend now? Why are we still in stupid Arkhelios? I want to go back to Pleasantview."

Alys' serene expression never wavered. She gestured to her right and another adult appeared beside her. Unlike this Alys, he didn't look like a demon, though maybe Theo was being presumptive. It's not like he looked like a demon most of the time either.

"My name is Leofric," the man said, smiling a little too enthusiastically. "I'm going to be your therapeutic guidance counselor. If you ever need to talk about your thoughts or feelings, I'm at your service. You can talk to me about anything, and it will stay between us. It's going to be a difficult transition, and sometimes demons can be a little too, uh, expressive when their emotions bottle up. Part of taking control over your abilities means taking control over your emotions too. I'll help you work through your emotional stumbling blocks, so that you can graduate into a responsible, mature hybrid in complete control of himself."

"No, I'm fine," Theo insisted angrily. "I'm going back to Pleasantview."

The teen snapped his fingers to summon a demonic portal, but none appeared. He tried again and again, but with no result.

"We've been entrusted with your true name, child," Alys stated coldly. "You'll find that many of your abilities may be out of your reach until you learn to master them. Coming with us isn't a choice. I'm afraid Pleasantview will have to wait."

"No! It's not fair! I need to talk to Adam! I'm not going!"

Overwhelmed with fear, anger, and despair, Theo found himself bursting into tears. He tried to stop the tears in order to look intimidating, but he couldn't. All he could feel within him was a cyclone of those emotions, blurring out every rational thought.

"Change can be difficult, I know," Leofric said soothingly, putting a reassuring arm around the teen. "What you're feeling is natural, especially now that you've realized that your normal means of escape are no longer possible. This is all part of the process; it's only natural. Why don't we continue this conversation inside so that it can remain private?"

"Where are we?" Theo asked through his tears. "I don't even know this part of Arkhelios."

"Because your parents and elected leader are sheltering you," Alys replied. The tone in her voice dashed Theo's hopes of escaping. Hopefully the rest of his so-called team were nicer than she was. Somehow, he didn't think he'd be that lucky.

"This is the former residence of the Chun family and the current residence of the Chun Undead. It is a part of your journey and where we must begin."

"I don't remember this place," Theo insisted, staring at the walls, hoping something would spark in his mind and trigger a reason why he was being forced to be here. "Those are my parents on the wall, but I've never been here before."

"This is the area where President Bellamy houses the undead," Leofric explained. It's part of a small zoned area for Arkhelios' undead residents to embrace their second chance at life."

"This is the zombie containment area?" Theo gasped. "No one's been here but the president herself! How did you get access here? Aunt Lucy and Grandma petition the government every five years to keep this place sealed. No one is allowed here."

"I think you will find that there are very few places where we don't have access," Alys replied. "We had need of it and it was made available to us. For our purposes, we were also granted the help of the undead. Your president has been very helpful. "

Theo frowned. These weren't the same same kind of teachers the Pleasantview Academy had, and they were well known for their long reach within the country. Wherever he was going, it looked like he would miss the freedom of Pleasantview. Whoever these people were, they were impossibly powerful, both politically and magically.

"Theo! Theo Dorhack."

"Grandpa? Is that you?" Theo stared at the zombie that was creeping toward him. He certainly looked like Theo's father, and was a zombie, so logically that would make this man his Grandpa Ian.

Theo didn't really know what to expect of his grandfather. From his grandmother's rants, Ian had been a worthless, cheating bum who squandered their money with his whore mistress. There may be some truth to that description, but when Theo thought about how she usually spoke about him, he decided to give his grandfather some grace. Nearly everyone was actually better than how his grandmother described them.

"Hey, Grandpa," Theo greeted nervously. "How have you been? It's been awhile, huh?"

Theo vaguely recalled his father mentioning that Theo had met his grandfather when he was younger, but Theo had no memory of it. The zombie seemed to understand what Theo was saying, even if he couldn't respond in complete sentences.

"Sit down, Theodosius," Alys commanded, gesturing to the couch beside her.

Ian seemed to respond to the command, gently pushing his grandson towards the requested seat. Theo grudgingly gave into the command, seeing that he was outnumbered and nearly powerless.

"Now, before we can continue with your admittance, we need to measure the limits of your potential," Alys said. Theo perked up at the thought that he could stall the process, but abandoned all hope when Alys locked her eyes intensely with his. "This is in no way optional. If you refuse to participate willingly, we have your true name already. You will be made to complete the exams."

Theo tried not to show fear, but this woman was a professional. Even when she was merely watching him, flashes of terror flooded Theo, warning him against defying her.

"O-okay," Theo gulped. "What do I need to do?"

"We were hoping to chart your natural state to establish an estimate of your abilities," Leofric answered. "Your file indicates that you displayed a large amount of power in this location as an infant. There is a stain of demonic magic in this house that we were hoping to attribute to you, but from seeing you interact with the space, it looks like it belongs to another demon. Perhaps Dorhack, as this was once his domain. It will be added to our measurements, but we need to dig deeper. You will accompany us at dawn to the secondary location. Until that time, you are permitted to sleep. I'd suggest that you take this opportunity. Testing may be...tiring and the chance to sleep may not come again any time soon."

Theo stretched out on the couch he was sitting on, watching his team members watch him coldly. Falling asleep wouldn't be so bad, especially if it meant escaping this nightmare for a few hours. In his dreams, he could return to Pleasantview like he wanted. In his dreams, he could hold Adam again.

As soon as the sun rose, Theo was rudely awakened when a freezing cup of water was emptied on his head. Alys tried to remain impartial, but Theo swore that there was a devious sparkle in her eye when he woke up sputtering.

"We're leaving. Now."

With sleep still in his eyes, Theo walked through the portal Alys had opened for him. On the other side, he stood in front of a weathered, small house, surrounded by water. Theo recognized the area from his childhood.

"This is still Arkhelios," he stated. "Is this the school? This is down the street from where my dad used to live."

This was much closer to the water than where Roman used to live, but Theo could still see the lights of Arkhelios in the distance. He didn't fully remember the near bunker they had lived in before taking over the Bellamy estate, but he did remember how quiet it was. Very few people came to the island next to Arkhelios due it's size and lack of amenities.

"This, Theo, is where you were born. Your entrance into the world was here, so it stands to reason that this is the best place to connect with the root of your magic. We have your true name and the location and time of your birth. All we need now is to see how your body reacts to our conditions."

"Conditions?" Theo repeated, but Alys was already climbing the stairs that led to the house.

"Stand in the magic circle and reach out your hands," the demon commanded. Leofric lingered near her, writing something in a notebook.

Theo did as he was told and immediately felt a rush of energy. His outstretched arm began to waver with the intensity of it all.

Alys nodded her approval and looked over at Leofric.

"Okay, test one, attempt one. And...go."

She snapped her fingers and immediately, all the rush of energy Theo felt exploded, colliding into him at breakneck speed. Energy flooded his mind, and he could feel the weight of the horns on his head, indicating that he'd shifted into his dark form.

"This feels funny," Theo stated, noticing the energy forming around his hands. He felt the top of his head worriedly. "There's still the extra horns from before. Plus the wings. They're sort of a new thing. Maybe they're part of what's wrong with me?"

"Unlikely." With a snap of her fingers, Theo immediately shifted out of his dark form, hitting the ground as his regular self. The change happened before his body could even register the movement.

"Well, that's what happened the other day with Adam," Theo said, hopeful that the experiment had concluded for the day and that he could go home. "So, since you've got the data, I should probably-"

"Test one, attempt two," Alys replied, snapping her fingers again. Theo swore she looked excited at the opportunity to inflict pain and discomfort on him.

The rush of energy came faster this time, still nearly knocking Theo to his feet. The transformation felt nearly instantaneous. Theo could feel the power coursing through his veins, energy exploding from his fingers. Every second, he felt as though he was about to burst from the amount of energy coursing through him. This was how he felt with Adam. The wild, unyielding power that threatened to destroy him had taken over his body within seconds.

"Now hold that position," Alys commanded. "We're getting a good reading. Okay, now try to summon energy to your hand, just what you did with Apprentice Darktide."

Theo obeyed the order, despite the amount of pain that he felt while doing so. Energy crackled in the air around him. His eyes felt like they were burning in their sockets. The room faded away from his vision, leaving him with nothing but endless darkness. Theo was sinking into darkness as an unnatural light shone within him, destroying his ability to concentrate on what was happening to him. He was going to explode from the magical pressure building inside of him. There was only darkness and pain and fear and....

Theo's mind snapped back to attention the instant it collided with something impossible to ignore. A tiny light in the darkness called to him, offering him shelter from the chaos of his thoughts.

The more Theo reached for the light, the more familiar it became. He could feel an unmistakable warmth unfurl around him, easing the fury of the energy forcing the shift into a dark form.

Adam, I finally found you.

There could be no mistaking the change in the air. Even Ian could sense that something had changed, despite not having the capacity to voice it in words. Theo didn't appear to be struggling nearly as much as he had before.

It was impossible for Theo to fight the urge to stay in his dark form, but he was making an incredible effort resisting it. He was no longer breathing heavily and was able to maneuver his hands together to expel whatever he could of the power burning within him.

"Fascinating," Alys exclaimed, putting away her notes in order to fully observe what she was seeing. "Finally, a reading that makes sense. Leofric, when we get back to the school, please send our gracious sovereign a message. The situation is as she thought it might be. The boy is stable here where he entered the world, while using a secondary source's power."

"That's wonderful," Leofric replied. "He can follow a fairly standardized course of study then. I'll have most of his entrance package ready within an hour of our arrival." He paused for a moment, running different scenarios through his mind. "And the secondary source? Do we need to contact them?"

Alys shook her head, still marveling at the teen in front of her. With every passing second, the boy seemed more calm, more in control of himself. Provided the right elements, this little hybrid was more than capable of growing into the threat the Sovereign envisioned. Once he learned to control his abilities, who knew what he could do, especially when paired with this secondary source?

"Only the Sovereign and Master Maricourt need to be informed," she decided. "They are our employers. The magic that they have said this boy can produce...well, the Ocean never gifts such power to a single person. You remember the stories. How odd to finally see such a thing in person."

Leofric nodded, still unsure of what his opinion on the matter would be.

"I'd be more inclined to believe the boy is the result of blood and contracted magic," he suggested. "This Dorhack and his daughter making contracts with powerful families and performing illegal magic would also explain the boy's abilities."

"No, this has the stink of a deity all over it. Impossible life magic, pairing the boy off to be grounded by another? You're far too young to know this, but our controversial life deity came into being due to circumstances much like this. Maybe this all started with Dorhack, but even he couldn't pull this off."

"I disagree. Blood magic amplified by a broken curse can easily explain this," Leofric replied. "I suppose we'll see when he gets settled in and starts training which one of us is right."

Alys snapped her fingers again, releasing Theo and sending him crashing to the floor, his dark form immediately vanished.

"It's a bet. Take Mr. Bellamy through the portal and get him settled. I'll be along shortly."

She gestured towards a wall, opening a portal that would lead Leofric and his young charge to the school.

"I have a feeling that this will be one of our more memorable students."

[arkhelios-gameplay]

"I don't want to be at daycare," Valerie whined, clutching tight onto the collar of Roman's shirt.

Roman sighed. "I'll pick you up in just a few hours," he promised her. "It won't be long."

"I don't want to!" Valerie declared again. "Ms. Selene is mean to me!"

Roman felt as if his heart broke into tiny little pieces. Something he had quickly learned about his daughter was that it was impossible to tell when she was exaggerating and when she was telling the truth. Rachel claimed she had the ability to tell. Still, what if Ms. Selene was actually cruel to his child, and he was forcing her to daycare to be with an abusive teacher for hours at a time?

"Why is Ms. Selene mean?" he tried to ask instead.

"She took my dolls," Valerie cried.

That was enough to finally make Roman skeptical. "The dolls you were chewing on?"

Valerie started weeping loudly.

[nappe-plays-the-sims]

Not-So-Simstober

Day 1 - Witching Hour

[enkisstories]

The kitties are back where they belong!

Morty, the elder, lives with his first human again, cherished and free from the stress of being part of the multi-pet Hydes household.

And Belle was reunited with her two kittens. While Morty didn’t even seem to notice a change in his surroundings, Belle rolled and stretched at every opportunity. She looked so happy!

[quiescentdestiny]

found myself not being normal about my boy this month. oopsie.

[saralynnx]

Ironman finds the work bench. He wants to fall in love again, so I figure he can make himself a robot lover. It will be a lot less complicated in long run.

[potential-fate]

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m kinda stuck here.” Lucy grit her teeth and her mouth pulled down in a small frown. “We’ve been friends since I was twelve, but Ulyssa dipped on me and left me with the mess. And Zane’s actually pretty decent now that I’ve gotten to know him, and I know you don’t like lying to him.”  

She sighed and then added, “I feel a little guilty too I guess.”  

“He deserves to know…” Roman muttered, “... I’d want to know.” 

Lucy shot him a glance. Luckily, Roman didn’t have to worry about any unknown children running around. She’d have killed her brother if he’d tried that.  

“I know.” She said, “I tried to convince her to tell him herself, but she’s intent on pretending it’s not happening.” 

Roman’s brows shot up, “How do you do that when you’re 8 months pregnant?”

“beats me.” Lucy shrugged. How would she know? She hadn’t heard anything from Ulyssa since the start of the semester.  

Roman huffed in response, “Look I just… I can’t keep—”

[potential-fate]

“Hey, what’s up?” Ashe picked up his phone immediately when Roman’s name had flashed across the screen. He glanced around the room. Roman hadn’t been gone that long. But he didn’t see anything of Roman’s lying around that he’d forgotten. 

Instead, when he finished greeting Roman, he got a string of almost incoherent and panicked cursing.

“Woah, slow down Ro….” Ashe tried, “Okay, okay… Hey, where are you?” 

It would be easier to just meet the other man, than try to translate through whatever Roman was freaking out about. After repeating the question, Roman managed to tell him he was on his own front porch because he needed fresh air. It didn’t seem to have worked, though Ashe supposed it was possible that he could have been worse before calling.  

“Okay. Come over here? okay? I’ll meet you outside.”  

He hung up, searching quickly for his keys, before he slipped on his boots.

[potential-fate]

“Really?” She glanced over at him. She couldn’t imagine living with her mother again unless she didn’t have a choice. 

“Yeah, I mean…” Zane started, “She doesn’t really have anyone else now. Wanda and Melvin both got married and moved out right? So… It’s just me who can take care of her.” 

“I guess that’s true.” Lucy hummed quietly, “Is she terrible? My mom is terrible.” 

She looked at the other two. Roman’s face was painted with a frown. Lucy supposed that was fair. She’d gone from one topic she knew he hated, to accidentally talking about their mothers. And everyone under the gods knew that Roman had more mommy issues than anyone under the sun. Besides maybe her brothers. 

“She’s okay, I guess.” Zane saved Roman from joining the conversation, “She’s not as bad to me as she was to my siblings… She’s just sorta… a mess?” 

“Oh.” Lucy bit her lip, “huh.” 

“What?” 

“My mother is like, the opposite of that.” Lucy tapped her chin lightly, “ she’s the worst, but I wouldn’t ever say she’s a mess.” 

“Oh..” Zane murmured, “What makes her so bad then?” 

Lucy grimaced. How did one explain her mother to someone who didn’t know Elaine intimately? Lucy somehow had insane standards to keep up with, while constantly being under Abe’s shadow her entire life anyways. It’d always felt like her mother expected more of her as the only girl in the family, and yet she fawned over Abe at every chance. It’d been easier to fight with her than it had to try to live up to impossible standards. Nathan seemed to agree in any case, so at least she had some sort of camaraderie at home. 

“It’s… complicated” She said, echoing Roman’s earlier statement.

--

[potential-fate]

What's in your character's bags?

I saw people doing this picrew, and thought I would too~ I'd tag people because I want to know, but idk who wants to do this and who already has. Edit: actually I've changed my mind I am tagging @rebouks @wannabecatwriter and @pralinesims because I wanna know more about ur faves. ignore me if you've already done it or simply do not want to :)

Twist: can you guess who's bag is who's?

This one is six of the Arkhelios boys.

Your options are Callum Walton, Abe Chun, Nathan Chun, Jorah Durant, Ashe Dallas, and Roman Bellamy.

Here's some extra hints:

One of these boys only occasionally smokes but does carry them on him. Old habits die hard, especially when stressed.

One of them wears contacts, but does have a set of glasses just in case.

[potential-fate]

“Can you hurry up? You’ve checked your makeup like 6 times.” Ellie rolled her eyes, “Lillie!” 

“What!?” Liliana frowned. 

“Okay, I know you wanna look good for—”

[potential-fate]

“Lucy.” Roman grit out, giving her a look that could kill. Zane only raised an eyebrow in request for more information. 

“The paparazzi caught him on film getting trashed downtown with a bunch of delinquents —” 

“They’re not delinquents they’re our friends—” Roman argued. 

“And now he has to marry some pretty foreign tech princess.” 

Roman threw a snack at her, “would you shut up?” 

“Wait, for real?” Zane asked, “Is she actually a princess?” 

“No she’s–”

[potential-fate]

“I’ve been fighting her off for almost as long, for some hopeless romantic bullshit.” Roman dropped his chin back to his knees, “Which is probably stupid anyways.” 

Ashe grimaced slightly at that and Roman sighed again. 

“She sorta shut up when I started dating Abe, right?” Roman added quietly, “It worked out for everyone. She wanted a way to get at the Helios fortune and legacy since before I was born, and I-... I loved him. So win-win right?” 

Roman shrugged his shoulders and gave the other a small smile, “Except that clearly worked out fucking wonderfully.” 

Ashe let out a short, dry laugh, and Roman went on, “Anyways, she’s been back on it since we broke up, and last night…” 

He trailed off, groaning and pulling his face roughly through his hands. 

“Gave her a good way in, hm.” Ashe finished Roman’s thought for him. 

“Exactly.” Roman sighed, “she gave me a choice, you know.” 

“What possible option is worse than being forced into marrying someone you don’t know?” 

Roman said nothing. He wasn’t sure ‘worse’ was the right term, but nonetheless, when his grandmother had offered him his options, he hadn’t even paused. “She threatened to disinherit me.” 

“....Oh.” 

“I–... I was under the impression they’d never do that… I don’t exactly have competition…” Roman pouted, “but they’re pissed off enough that they’re willing to overlook the fact that my uncle’s adopted at this point.” 

“… and you really don’t think you could manage without your family fortune?” Ashe asked, not unkindly, just curious.

[potential-fate]

“Hey guys!~” Zane’s approach cut into Roman’s argument, “We ready to chilllllll?” 

“Abso-fuckin-lutely” Lucy responded, at the same time as Roman simply greeted him, “Hey Zane.” 

Roman caught her eye before he stood from the steps, giving her a clear look that said the conversation wasn’t over. Lucy suppressed a sigh. 

[potential-fate]

“I uh… I thought you’d like it?” He said uncertainly. 

“No it’s nice, I’m not complaining.” Callum brushed their noses together to drive home his point. 

“Oh, okay.” Abe smiled back, “Okay, good. Good.” 

He didn’t need to think about Roman and his stupid new friends. He was having fun with his boyfriend. Here, in the same club, sure. Where he felt completely out of place, while Roman seemed completely at home across the room. But that didn’t matter. He was fine. This was what he wanted. He’d made his choices. None of that mattered. If it showed that he was distracted, Callum didn’t seem to notice. Instead, the blonde tangled his fingers in his hair and pulled him into another kiss. Abe willed himself to actually get lost in it like he wanted to. 

When they broke apart again, the group of strangers Abe was not at all interested in had disappeared again.